The Feodosia oil refinery, the largest in Russian-occupied Crimea, burns after a Ukraine drone strike, October 6, 2025

Monday’s Coverage: Zelensky — “Zero Real Reaction” To Russian Drone and Missile Strikes

UPDATE 0711 GMT:

Circumventing US sanctions, a Kremlin-backed cryptocurrency operation has moved at least $6 billion since August.

More than 80% of A7A5, a stablecoin in Russia’s growing cross-border payments system A7, was destroyed and recreated. That cleared it of links to a crypto exchange that had been just blacklisted by Washington.

The US added Grinex, a Kyrgyzstan-based exchange, to its sanctions list in August. American authorities said Grinex is a successor of Garantex, taken out by US law enforcement in March for “hacking, ransomware, terrorism, and drug trafficking”.

UPDATE 0659 GMT:

The European Union will restrict the movement of Russian diplomats within the 27-nation bloc.

Members agreed that the diplomats must inform authorities of their travel plans before crossing the border of their host country.

Czechia proposed the restriction, which will be part of the 19th package of European sanctions. Hungary has lifted its veto.

The meassure is a response to “sabotage attempts, which, according to intelligence services, are often carried out by spies operating under diplomatic cover”.

A “senior EU diplomat” said, “They’re based in one place, but operating in another. The host country’s intelligence services know what they’re up to, but if they cross the border, that country may find it more difficult to monitor them.”

UPDATE 0640 GMT:

Cracking down on Russia’s “shadow fleet”, Denmark is stepping up environmental checks on oil tankers in the shipping lane linking the Baltic and North Seas.

Russia uses the tankers to evade international sanctions on oil exports. Dozens are suspected to be among the more than 60,000 ships sailing past Skagen in northern Denmark each year.

Last month, a vessel believed to be in the “shadow fleet” was linked to drone sightings over Denmark, closing airports.

On Monday, Ukraine and Denmark signed a memorandum of understanding for Ukrainian defense companies to set up joint manufacturing — including drones — in the Nordic country.

Ukraine Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal posted, “The signing of the Memorandum is a major step towards forming a new security system in Europe and strengthening the capabilities of the defense-industrial complexes of our countries.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine further damaged vital infrastructure for the Kremlin’s 44 1/2-month invasion on Monday, striking targets inside Russia and in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Drones hit the Saki and Kacha airfields, an ammunition depot of Russia’s 18th Combined Arms Army, and the largest oil terminal in Crimea, starting a large fire visible tens of kilometers away.

The Feodosia terminal stores up to 250,000 tons of fuel. Damage to its operations exacerbates the rationing of gasoline in the occupied area, as well as in Russia’s Far East amid shortages across the country. As of late September, around 50% of stations in Crimea had stopped selling fuel.

Drones set multiple explosions and a fire at the Sverdlov explosives plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region, 800 km (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The plant, sanctioned since 2023 by the European Union and the US, is one of Russia’s largest. Its production of munitions includes warheads for precision-guided missiles and anti-tank missiles, aircraft and artillery shells, guided air bombs, and ammunition for air defense and engineering units.

In the Belgorod region in western Russia, A Ukrainian attack damaged energy facilities in Belgorod city in western Russia, leaving almost 40,000 residents without electricity.

Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the assault caused “significant damage” across seven municipalities.

The Russians suffered a further blow with a partial suspension of production at the Kirishi oil refinery in the Leningrad region, damaged early Saturday by drones.

The refinery’s main crude processing unit, CDU-6, has been halted. It has around 40% of the refinery’s total output. Repairs are estimated to require a month.

More than 800 km (500 miles) from Ukraine’s border, the complex accounts for 6.6% of Russia’s output of refined oil.

Trump Waffles Over Tomahawk Missiles to Ukraine

Donald Trump waffled on Monday over the Administration’s consideration of supplying long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv.

The Administration has authorized intelligence-sharing to assist Ukraine with targeting inside Russia. Provision of the Tomahawks, with a precision-strike range of up to 1,600 km (994 miles) would significantly enhance Ukrainian capability.

Asked by reporters at the White House about the supply, Trump said he had “sort of made a decision”.

Then he hedged, “I think I want to find out what they’re doing with them. I would ask some questions. I’m not looking to escalate that war.”